A Shared-Hardware Battery Management System for Solar-Assisted and Capacitive Balancing in Unmanned Surface Vehicles

This article presents a hybrid battery management system for unmanned surface vehicles, integrating three operational modes: solar-to-cell balancing, capacitive balancing, and solar-to-pack charging—within a shared architecture. The system prioritizes solar-to-cell balancing when solar energy is available, capacitive balancing when charging without solar input, and solar-to-pack charging when cells are balanced. This approach eliminates additional hardware by utilizing a shared-hardware architecture. A 14.8 V battery pack composed of four 3.7 V Li-ion modules was simulated and prototyped to validate the system. Experimental and simulation results confirm improved cell balancing, reduced state-of-health deviation, and extended operational time, demonstrating superior performance, sustainability, and adaptability over conventional battery management system solutions for unmanned surface vehicles and similar platforms.